Steering gear for road graders



Sept. 1, 1925.

F. E. ARNDT STEERING GEAR FOR ROAD GRADERS Filed Dec. 20. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENTOR A TTORNEY l, l F. E. ARNDT STEERING GEAR FOR ROAD GRADERS Filed Dec. 20. 1924 l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 [N V EN TOR mum tremity wh re y i mey Patented Sept. 1, 1925.

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loth erohjects illappear in the course of the following description.

"invention is illustrated in the 34609111 anging.drawingwherein:{

1 Figure :1" is a "side eleV-ationof the forward end; iofiya grading machine showing my invention apfilied to the draft tongue thereof;

' Figure-lisa top plan View of: the worm Wheel; andwo rm gear, the Worm being shown inflection and-a portipn'pf the pole, the top offhe a sing'being removed;

Figureis' a perspective iew showing a portion of the axle with one of the collars thereomione of the braces for the stub tongue, and one of the arch members;

' Figure i is a perspective View of the slide k Figure 5- is an elevation of the iront axle showing in section; the manner of connectingiit to the mainframe. i eferring to 1 this drawing, and particulady to Figure wherein I have illustrated the forwardend of a road orking machine constructed in Y general accordance I with my v inventiog it will be seen that the road scraping machine. includes a" forward truck or TO THE GAL-ion IROQLWQQQKfi 8 I ue; this we dginge action being increased as the strain upon the stub tongue resist ng necessary to "detail arethe draft bars 15, to i whichtlie circle on which the scraper supporting-bars are mounted is attached for oscillatio'n in a horizontal plane, as usual in constructions of this" character. 'It 'is not necessary todetail this construction or to illustrate the same, as it forms no art of my'. invention. i V

Bivotally nounted upon the king bolt 13 rforos cillation thereon is the draft'pole 17;

v Whichatits forward end "is provided with v a cIei iS LS bywhieh'it may be connected to any suitable draita'p aratus as, fior instance; iii-tractor; This dra} "pole is illustrated as being supported by means oi a flexible con nection l 9r extending upward to a support V (Yams- V in cross; iece 20. constructionforms no pa-rt o pmy invent on It w1li beobvious that the pole or tongue 17 may swing to right or left and that this will not affect the main axle or arch 10 which is supported by the main axle.

Disposed beneath the main tongue or pole 17 is a stub shaft 21, which at its rear end is pivotally connected to a'brac'e 22 which extends from the rear end of the pole or tongue 17 downward and rearward to a point immediately beneath the king bolt 13. The stub tongue 21 is connected to the axle by means of two laterally extending braces 23 which are connected to the stub tongue adjacent its forward horizontal portion and at their rear ends extend beneath the axle. Mounted upon the axle 2aare collars 25, these collars'being formed with two upwardly extending passages 26 and a medial passage 27, the lateral passages 26 being surrounded by upstanding bosses 28. Each of these collars is formed in two parts adapted to embrace the axle and be held together by bolts. These bolts pass through the ends of the braces 23. v V

Rotatably mounted upon the tongue 17 is a downwardly extending shaft 29, the lower end of which carries upon it. a crank arm 30. This crank arm at its free end is provided with a vertically extending bearing, and disposedat the free end of the crank arm is a steering block 31 which, as illustrated, hasanupwardly extending circulanhub 32v which is disposed within the bearing 33 on the end of the crank arm so as to oscillate therein. This block is held in *place within the bearing by a nut and bolt 34. This block is formed with a longitudinally extending'passage 35 which is rectangular in cross section and has a sliding fit upon the horizontal portion of the stub tongue 21.

Thus is willbe obvious that as the crank arm 30 is shifted in one direction or the other from a middle position that the solid block 31 will slide upon the horizontal portion of the stub tongue and that at the same time the stub tongue will be swung from the left, depending upon the direction in which the crank arm 30 is swung. For the pur pose of swinging the crank arm, I may use any suitable mechanism but I have illustrated forthis purpose the shaft 29 as being provided at its upper end with a worm wheel 36 with which a worm 37 engages, this worm 37 being operatively connected to an operating shaft 38 composed of sections having a universal joint connection to each other. One section of this operating shaft I have designated 33, but I have only shown as much of this operating shaft as, is necessary for an understanding of my invention and I do. not. wish to be limited to an operating shaft constructed of sections or to any particular form of operating shaft, particularly as this operating shaft is practically the same in form as that illustrated in my prior patent above referred to.

As will be seen from Figure 5, the bolster 10 at its ends rests upon a cross bar 39 which is bolted to the upper ends of the collars 25. The braces 10 at their upper ends are connected to a yoke 40 which at its upper end is formed to provide for the support of a member 41 through which the bolt 12 passes and upon which the bolster 4-2 rests, the member 41 forming part of the bolster. This part 41 is formed with a bore through which the bolt 12 passes, which bore is upwardly and centrally tapered. This construction permits a certain amount of lateral play of these parts.

The operation of this mechanism will be obvious from what has gone before. Normally and when the tractor is directly ahead of the scraper or grader, the stub tongue 21 will be disposed immediately beneath the pole or main tongue 17, but when it is desired to guide and hold the grader to one side of the path of movement of the tractor as, for instance, when the tractor is operating on the crown of the road and the grader is operating at the side of the road, the stub tongue 21 is shifted by means of the crank arm 30 in a direction to hold the stub tongue directly forward, while, of course, the main tongue isswung by the pull of the tractor toward the right or left. This will hold the steering wheels of the grader in s'uch position that the grader will move in a straight line parallel to the side of the road and with the main tongue disposed at an angle to the line of the road and extending to the tractor. Thus the machine is capable of operating at the extreme side of the road, for ditching and the like, while the tractor remains in the middle of the road or even way to one side thereof.

With this steering gear it is possible to operate the grader at an angle of 45 from the engine or tractor and the steering gear is readily operated, there being only a slight turn of the operating shaft required in order to change the direction of the grader. The steering gear enables the operator to guide the grader to either side of the roadway or to work the ditch while the tractor is pulling safely in the middle of the road.

The specific advantages of this particular construction are due to its simplicity and its consequent strength. Furthermore, as the crank arm moves to one side or the other, the block 31 has a sliding action on the crank arm which acts to wedge the crank arm laterally, thus securing very great power. Furthermore, the greater the angle between the stub tongue and the main tongue or pole, the greater this wedging action is, and this is particularly necessary a front steering axle and a main tongue pivotally connected to the forward end of the grader for oscillation independent of the axle, of a stub tongue connected to the axle, a crank mounted upon the mam tongue, operative connections between the extremity of v the crank and the stub tongue whereby to shift the stub tongue to one side or the other as the'crank is turned, andmanually operable 'means for shifting said crank.

. 2. The combination with a vehicle having a front steering axle, a main tongue pivotally connected to the forward end of the vehicle and a stub tongue operatively connected to the axle to shift the latter, of means for manually shifting the stub tongue with relation to the main tongue comprising a crank arm mounted upon the main tongue, a member slidably mountedv upon the stub tongue, the extremity of the crank arm being pivotally connected to said member, and manually operable means for oscillating the crank arm.

3. The combination with a vehicle having a front steerng axle, a tongue operatively pivoted to the forward end of the vehicle and a stub tongue connected to the front axle, of means for shifting the stub tongue into or out of parallelrelation to the main. tongue comprising a shaft mounted upon the main tongue, a crank arm carried by the shaft, a member slidably mounted upon the stub tongue, a pivotal connection between said member and the extremity of the crank arm, and manually operable means for rotating said shaft.

4t. The combination with a vehicle having a front steering axle, a tongue operatively pivoted to the forward end of the vehicle and a stub tongue connected to the front axle, of means for shifting the stub tongue into or out of parallel relation to the main tongue comprising a shaft mounted upon the main tongue, a crank arm carried by the shaft, a member slidably mounteduponthe stub tongue, a pivotal connection between said member and the extremity of the crank arm, manually operable means for rotating said shaft including a worm gear wheel mounted upon the shaft, and a worm shaft carrying a worm and engaging said worm gear. l

5. The combination with a vehicle having. a front steering axle, a main tongue operatively pivoted to the forward end" of the vehicle, a stub tongue, laterally divergent braces connected to the stub tongue and to the axle whereby to cause the unitary movement of the stub tongue and the axle, a

brace mounted upon the main tongue and extending rearward therefrom towhich the rear end of the stub tongue is'pivotally connected, the point of pivotal connection being in axial alignment with the center of the axle and of the main tongue, the stub tongue having a portion extending parallel to and beneath the main tongue, a crank shaft mounted upon the main tongue, a crank arm carried thereby, a block slidably mounted upon the stub tongue for longitudinal movementthereon, a pivotal connection between the extremity of the crank arm and said block, and means engaging the'crank shaft whereby to manually oscillate the crank shaft. 7

6. The combination with a vehicle having a front arch oscillata-bly mounted upon the forward end of the vehicle and a front axle carried by the arch and traction wheels thereon, of a main tongue pivotally connected to the arch at the middle thereof, a stub tongue operatively connected to the axle for unitary movement therewith, the stub tongue extending forward and beneath the main tongue, laterally divergent braces connected to the stub tongue and to spaced points on the axle, a brace connected to the rear end of the main tongue extending rearward therefrom and pivotally connected to the rear end of the stub tongue, the point of connectionbeing axially to the pivotal connection of the main tongue to the vehicle and to the arch, a crank shaft mounted upon the main tongue, a crank arm extending therefrom, a block sliding upon the stub tongue, a pivotal connection between the extremity of the crank arm and said block, and manually operable means for shifting l the crank shaft to thereby shift the stub tongue.

7. The combination with a vehicle having afront arch oscillatably mounted upon the forward end of the vehicle, a front axle carried by the arch and traction wheels thereon, of a main tongue pivotally connected to the arch at the middle thereof, a stub tongue, the stub tongue extending forward from a point above the axle to and beneath the main tongue, a brace attached tothe rear end of the main tongue and extending downward and rearward therefrom, a bar operatively supported upon the axle and extend ing above the same, the stub tongue and the brace being pivotally connected to the bar on an axis coincident with the axis of the tongue, laterally divergent braces connected to the stub tongue and to spaced points on the axle, a crank shaft mounted upon the main tongue and having sliding engagement at its free end with the stub tongue, and manually operable means for oscillating said crank shaft.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature. 

